Learning the Birds Airs Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. during High Plains Morning and Saturdays at 11:30 a.m. during Western Swing & Other Things Bird Lady Ruth Beasley recounts her adventures in "Bird World" and delights her listeners with a lighthearted mix of science, lore, and literature that helps us understand our feathered friends. Against an audio backdrop of birdsong and calls, Ruth's memorable narratives help listeners learn and remember the sound of birds. Contact Ruth Beasley about the program. Sign up for an automatic download of each new episode of Learning the Birds through HPPR's Podcast service:  Podcast signup  Learn about HPPR Podcasts

Listen to recent Learning the Birds episodes: Love is For the Birds- In early spring, many birds are already declaring their passionate intentions. We celebrate Valentine's Day by listening to the love calls of some High Plains birds. (aired 02/09/10)  Brewer's Blackbirds- We consider the widespread but little known Brewer's Blackbirds--uncommonly lovely birds with a distinctive flight style. (aired 02/02/10)  White-crowned Sparrow- We meet a sparrow once known as the farmer's friend, the lively, lovely and very melodious White-crowned Sparrow. (aired 01/26/10)  Red Finch Reverie- After some frustration, Ruth learns a trick for telling red finches apart.  She'll help us sort our House from Purple Finches using both sound and sight. (aired 01/19/10)  Birdsong - We celebrate the sound of birds with a medley of familiar birdsong, and discover how many songs we already know. (aired 01/12/10)  Conversion - Ruth explains how her first good look at a Red-shafted Flicker turned her into a bird watcher all at once. (aired 01/05/10)  Red River Country - In 1876, a party of surveyors set out to map the headwaters of the Red River.  Their early exploration of the Texas Panhandle, and the birds and wildlife they encountered is recorded in the entertaining history called The Red River Country. (aired 12/29/09)  Four Christmas Birds - Ruth tackles three birds traditionally associated with Christmas, and then sets off in search of a fourth- an elusive and rare species found exclusively in December. (aired 12/22/09) Peterson - We review a new biography of th elegendary Roger Tory Peterson, late artists and naturalist whose field guides revolutionized modern bird-watching. (aired 12/15/09) Life List - Guest Host Olivia Gentile describes her new book, "Life List", about the woman who saw more birds than anyone else in history.  The author describes how a fatal diagnosis prompted Phoebe Snetsinger to achieve her remarkable life list. (aired 12/08/09) Photo by Deborah Copaken Kogan Pigeons - Learn some new respect for the much-maligned (and very tasty!) bird in the first of our series on the best bird books.  Today we examine Andrew Bleckman's book "Pigeons" and reconsider one of mankind's most steadfast companions. (aired 12/01/09) Ruth is going to focus on some of the great books that interest the bird-lovers among us for the month of December. Snowy Plovers - Snowy Plovers are increasingly rare, but conservations efforts are underway.  We consider a bird on the brink of extinction--one endangered species we might yet save. (aired 11/24/09) Ivory-billed Woodpecker Update - In 2005, researchers rediscovered the elusive Ivory-billed Woodpecker.  Ruth brings us an update on the status of this once-vanished native bird. (aired 11/17/09) Passenger Pigeons -We explore the fate of the Passenger Pigeon, a bird that once darkened the skies of North America before it was hunted into extinction. (aired 11/10/09) Carolina Parakeet - Of all the vanished birds in North America, Carolina Parakeets may be the ones we ought to miss the most. (aired 11/03/09) For November, Ruth focuses on vanished and vanishing birds. Bioluminescent Owls - What could explain the legends of both the Jack o'Lantern and the Will o' the Wisp?  Why, bioluminescent Barn Owls of course!  We tackle a spooky theory as Owl Month concludes. (aired 10/27/09)  Screech Owls - Screech Owls are small tufted owls of the open woods.  In certain corners of the High Plains, both Eastern and Western Screech Owls can be found, so we'll learn a few ways to tell them apart. (aired 10/20/09) Great Horned Owls - Owl Month continues this week with the Great Horned Owl.  They eat everything from skunks to kangaroo rats including the occasional house-pet.  We explore the service they provide and consider their owlish anatomy. (aired 10/13/09) Burrowing Owls - We begin this week with the Burrowing Owl.  Burrowing Owls live in relative harmony with prairie dogs and snakes. We consider the unusual habits of these long legged ground-dwelling owls. (aired 10/06/09) Ruth celebrates October by focusing on the owls in our listening area.   Blue Grosbeak - This Cardinal cousin comes only in blue:  Blue Pop is an old nickname for the Blue Grosbeak. (aired 09/29/09) Hummers at Home - Hummingbirds are one of nature's most beautiful creations.  We explore hummingbirds flight and learn how to attract these amazing birds to our backyards. (aired 09/22/09) Life List - Guest Host Olivia Gentile describes her new book, "Life List", about the woman who saw more birds than anyone else in history.  The author describes how a fatal diagnosis prompted Phoebe Snetsinger to achieve her remarkable life list. (aired 09/15/09) Photo by Deborah Copaken Kogan Molting - As autumn approaches, birds begin to molt.  We explore feather structure and molting, the natural process of shedding feathers to maintain a healthy plumage. (aired 09/08/09) Young Cardinals - Watching a family of cardinals is more fun when you can tell them apart.  Today we learn a simple trick for identifying juvenile Northern Cardinals. (aired 09/01/09) Field Sparrow - Ruth identifies a sparrow in the field by sound and describes the investigative methods that led to the positive id. (aired 08/25/09) Mobbing - We explore the Bird World activity called Mobbing, what happens when smaller birds gang up to intimidate larger birds. (aired 08/18/09) Mimids - Three High Plains Mimids are Mockingbirds, Catbirds and Brown Thrashers.  Today Ruth explains how the neighborhood Mimids are always playing tricks on her. (aired 08/11/09) Miracle of the Gulls - Ruth concludes our historical series on with an amazing tale.  People in Utah tend to be fond of the local gulls.  We learn why from an 1891 account of the Miracle of the Gulls. (aired 08/04/09) Red River Country - In 1876, a party of surveyors set out to map the headwaters of the Red River.  We hear about the birds they found on their historic expedition. (aired 07/28/09) Wilson's Meadowlark - Alexander Wilson wrote about the Eastern Meadowlark in 1828.  We consider this early take on a popular High Plains bird. (aired 07/14/09) Jaeger's Poorwill - In 1946, in the Colorado desert, Edmund Jaeger described an encounter with a hibernating Poorwill.  This was the first official report on this baffling phenomenon. (aired 07/07/09)  Ruth takes the time to step back in time through the journals and reports from early bird watchers.

For earlier episodes visit Learning the Birds archive: 2009 (Jan - Jun) 2008 (Jul - Dec)